Arsenic and Old Lace -- 1944

Imagine, if you will, coming home to the two women who raised you to announce you've been married and are going off to Niagra Falls on your honeymoon. They insist on throwing a small party before you go which doesn't dent your plans much. As you're looking for something, you stumble across a dead body.

When you announce the find to your aunts, expecting horror, you get a non-chalant response about it being Mr. Hodgkins, and they not only already know about him being there, but they put him there after poisoning him as a public service. They plan on holding a proper service for him later when they bury him with the other 11 men they've killed. And that's just the beginning.

This film was based on a successful Broadway play and is incredibly funny in nearly all of its dealings, even when it is at its darkest. Mortimer (played by Cary Grant) is nothing short of dumbfounded by the blase attitude given by his aunts who are equally confused as to why he is so flipped out. We have a slew of other equally strange and unique characters that only add to the comedy and enjoyment of this story. Even the quirks are comedic as opposed to annoying, like so many quirks can be.

Now, this film was very obviously based on a play with the complete action taking place in a single set. A handful of things happen outside the great room of the house, but not much. This means that since you're looking at the same set for almost the entire film, you have to rely on the actions of the characters to keep the film moving. It moves pretty well once it gets going, but the pace takes a little bit to kick in because we're working in the beginning to acclimate ourselves to what's going on, and new characters are almost constantly introduced. So every time someone new pops in, we have to let up a little bit to get used to someone new, but it's done fairly quickly. 

Definitely one of the better films out there. I found myself laughing constantly throughout the antics of these characters who have all lost their minds.